Trubisky Refuses to Dwell on Comparison to Mahomes
Although Mitchell Trubisky understands the comparisons between himself and the quarterback he'll face Sunday at Soldier Field, he doesn't care about them or necessarily like them.
How could he be blamed? There is no comparison.
Bears GM Ryan Pace wanted Trubisky enough to trade up and take him No. 2, leaving both Mahomes and DeShaun Watson available to be selected by someone else in 2017.
"You just play your game and find a way to win for your team," Trubisky said Wednesday at Halas Hall. "The comparisons are out there and they are never going to stop. It's kind of me, Pat and Deshaun are kind of all grouped together because we are in the same draft class, drafted in the first round and all that. But there are no do-overs. We are where we are. Our careers are going in different paths and they will for the rest of time and they'll be compared against each other.
"It's just the nature of the beast but I'm in competition with myself and just trying to be the best version of me and go out there and win games for the Chicago Bears and it's just something that I can’t control. It is what it is. But two good guys to be compared to. Hopefully we just keep getting better and help the league."
Trubisky truly meant what he waid about two good guys. He knows both and was with both in the Pro Bowl last year.
Trubisky has 48 touchdown passes in 39 games started, Mahomes has 73 touchdown passes in 29 starts for coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs.
"He's a good dude," Trubisky said. "It's been fun watching him and the way the careers shake down and stuff. I only know him a little bit in passing and stuff but from the times I've been around him we got along and it's been cool to hang out with guys like that."
If anyone thinks Trubisky will be highly motivated simply because he wants to outperform Mahomes in a head-to-head to show up his many detractors, they probably haven't paid attention to Trubisky in the past.
"I don't need any outside motivation to motivate myself," Trubisky said. "I mean, I'm trying to be the best I can possibly be and that's it, point blank, simple. I mean, that's it."
The common link between the two quarterbacks is, of course, Bears coach Matt Nagy. It was Nagy who had the offensive coordinator duties at Kansas City in Mahomes' rookie year. It was that season in 2017 which is a variation between the two QBs. Trubisky had to play in the failing offense of John Fox and Dowell Loggains. Mahomes got to sit and watch behind Alex Smith until the regular-season finale.
"The situation that we had in Kansas City when we ended up drafting him, with Alex being there—what I saw and being a part of it first-hand was those two having to have to learn to trust each other over time," Nagy said of Smith and Mahomes. "The first time we were together, the first meeting, it wasn't nearly as strong as it was by the end of the season. That I think right there, just goes to show how powerful both of those guys—meaning Alex and Patrick, how that relationship built.
"We'll see where things go down the road, but for Patrick I’m sure he’d be the first to tell you that that year that he spent 'red-shirting' under Alex Smith is probably gonna go down as a very significant year to him to grow."
There was no redshirting for Trubisky, who played immediately and struggled because of Mike Glennon's inadequacies.
Trubisky's struggles this year in a 7-7 season haven't turned his future into the NFL dumpster says Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
"He put up over 300 yards," Reid said of last week. "That's pretty dang good. That's hard to do in the National Football League, especially against a team like Green Bay.
"He's doing all right. Every quarterback, every game, every situation is not gonna be perfect. But his resilience there, to keep battling like he did through the year, that's something special and how he's been playing good football."
It looks like a step back for Trubisky with 17 TD passes, 10 interceptions and an 84.2 passer rating, 11.2 lower than last year. Then again, he played without a legitmate tight end all season and with an offensive line struggling to open holes in the running attack.
"It's just a learning experience," Nagy said. "It hasn't gone the way we wanted it to, but that's the way it goes sometimes. You just deal with it the best you can. Continue to get better, stay positive, lift up the people around you, and try to improve your craft and keep getting better, and compete to win games."
Trubisky feels like he learned a lot this year even statistics say otherwise.
"I would say I'm developing," he said. "Obviously it doesn't always show in the statistical categories, but I feel like I've learned a lot throughout the season. I've gotten a lot more comfortable in certain areas. I've definitely grown as a leader, being able to speak up, getting closer with coach and being on the same page, communicating throughout the week and being more involved in the game plan and the checks throughout the game, seeing the game a little bit better–I think it’s starting to slow down.
"We're not always getting the numbers we want as a team, scoring the points and the yardage and numbers and stuff, but I feel like I've grown in ways that don't necessarily show up on paper. Still got a long ways to go."
It looks even longer when compared to Mahomes, the MVP a year ago.
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